Malcolm X’s the Ballot or the Bullet speech? Its implications for Black Liberation Theology in present day South Africa

Resumo

This article attempts to bring one of the greatest speeches of Malcolm X back to life in a political year in South Africa. Recounting the influences that Malcolm X had on Black Liberation Theology in South Africa, it moves from an inward looking critical theology to one that identifies with the most vulnerable in society. It criticises both the political and economic hegemonies that perpetuate a neo-apartheid in democratic South Africa today. It takes a swipe at party politics which creates propaganda and has no interest of the masses at heart. In the end it asks what Malcolm X would have said about the current South African socio-economic context. It realises that black people are ganged up by both structural apartheid residues as well as pure selfish interests of the current political rulers.